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Polian Says It’s Aaron Donald At No.7

May 3rd, 2014

The former Colts GM sees Lovie Smith through his many years with Tony Dungy

The man who labeled the Bucs’ trade for Darrelle Revis the worst in NFL history, former Colts general manager Bill Polian, has made a confident call of the Bucs’ selection with the No. 7 overall pick next week.

Polian sees Lovie Smith and remembers working closely with Father Dungy on the great Colts teams of the last decade. Polian believes he knows where Lovie’s heart and mind lie.

In a recent behind-a-pay-wall article for BSPN.com yesterday, Polian spelled out his take on the first eight picks of the first round. He’s confident the Bucs go defensive line.

The odds are that the first three picks will be Clowney, Mack and Watkins, in some combination.

That brings us to the Browns at No. 4. Cleveland is a wild card; its GM has no track record to provide any clues. But this fan base clearly needs a shot in the arm, and there will be a player on the board who could provide just that. The franchise is sound in most areas, with one glaring need: quarterback. I think they’ll spring for Manziel. He has the hand size to overcome the cold and other weather conditions in the AFC North, and the Bengals, Ravens and Steelers are built to chase stationary QBs, not someone with Manziel’s elusiveness. Johnny Football makes sense at No. 4.

It’s possible the Raiders would like to trade down from No. 5, eager to add assets after several years with few draft picks to spend, but is there a can’t-miss player another team would trade up to obtain? I don’t see a match unless someone wanted to beat the Falcons to a particular offensive tackle, which is the position I believe Atlanta will address if it stays at No. 6. Pittsburgh DT Aaron Donald is an ideal fit as a 3-technique in the Bucs’ new Tampa 2 defense, and I see that match at No. 7. The Vikings almost certainly will take the best QB on the board — possibly Blake Bortles — at No. 8.

Joe believes the Bucs only take Donald, the beastly Pittsburgh defensive tackle, if Lovie is thinking more long term and trying to recreate the Bucs’ dominant Tampa-2 defense of the glory years — and if he was serious about emulating Seattle, which collects pass rushers like Joe does empty candy wrappers.

Yes, the Bucs signed Super Bowl winner nose tackle/pass rusher Clinton McDonald this offseason. But did the Bucs need DT Booger McFarland when he was drafted in the first round in 1999? Absolutely not.

In fact, McFarland wasn’t a starter that season, and outside of one game, the ’99 Bucs defense was one of the greatest in NFL history. Brad Culpepper started the entire season at tackle alongside Warren Sapp and had six sacks.

Could Donald be the next “Booger” for Gerald McCoy? Possibly.

Interestingly, Lovie already has said McDonald (5.5 sacks last year) has the get-off and skills to rush off the left edge. That would make rotating in Donald that much easier. Also, as of now, the Bucs have no legitimate backup for Gerald McCoy. The man shouldn’t be asked to take nearly every snap like he did last season. It would be nice to keep him fresh for (gasp) the playoffs.

58 Responses to “Polian Says It’s Aaron Donald At No.7”

I will be singing and dancing to the “Im so happy” song if this occurs!!!! Which will make many eyeballs and ears, (around me at my favorite sports bar) bleed as my lily white azzz isnt good at either singing nor dancing lololol! Perfect choice…. been preaching it for weeks now. May even be able to trade down a few spots and still get him 😀

Donald would make the most sense at 7. What is the drop between a Carr at 7 and Garappolo in the 2nd. I don’t believe Carr is a top 5 pick and 7 is closer to 5 than 10 imo lol. Evans at 7 I like, but with a class so deep of WR I feel we could get a Allen Robinson in the 2nd. Donald give solid depth to our DT and security if something were to happen to GMC. Also GMC, Donald and Johnson on 3rd down would be great. Even if we trade down a couple spots I still think we could get Donald.

Oh come on Rastamon, why are your panties in such a bunch over Bortles? He’s the only top 10 QB to me. But we’re good and really dont need him in the top 10….trenches and pass rush is where the smart picks are, and we have them in the top 10…Robinson (gone) – Matthews (gone) – Mack (gone) – and even though I dont want him and label him as “Number 1, Atlanta traded, then frustrated, colossal bust!” Clowney (gone).

And theres WR’s gallore, so next Best Player Available…drum roll…. Mr. Donald!

Donald…imagine..Dungy….3 & out…defense….3 & out offense…repeat until ass handed to you in the Play Offs…..it is a NFL scoring Pin Ball League now…..so….how many points do the Bucs score….retorical/historical/get a clue 2014 NFL

Have yall seen Donald, he looks better to me than any college DT has since Ndamukong Suh, I cant imagine having McCoy and Donald. Donald is a menace! Watch his tape and i would prefer Donald over clowney and i didnt know anything about Donald till just recent .

If you like Donald with 11 sacks, you will really like Bromley with 10 sacks last year, who is heavier than Donald, has an explosive first step too, but unlike Donald can be had in the 4th round. Bromley is a three technique who can spell McCoy, and also be a rotational rusher. That way we get Carr at 7, Mad Max from Michigan State in the second round who can be a Urlacher clone at MLB while we move Foster to SLB where he can be an All Pro this year, trade Glennon for a third round pick for either a Guard or a WR (though I feel we have plenty of 4.3 WRs already and Wright can take Wms’ place if need be), so then we will be great this year.

you guys are nuts, the last time i checked you need to score, wish somebody would realize that. We need playmakers on offense, you need a quarterback and a receiver, dont care what order they come, but you need both. McCown is a two year fit, Glennon lead what seemed to be the worst offense in the nfl, your recipe equals another losing year, scratching our head again, what do we do. OH MY

I would be Ok with the Donald pick, but I haven’t heard a pick yet that couldn’t like either. This is a deep draft – lots of good players all the way to the 7th round. For example, check out DT Anthony “Mad Dog” Johnson in the 3rd or 4th round. You like speed, you like brute, you will like this guy!

“Could Donald be the next “Booger” for Gerald McCoy? Possibly.”
That statement posits that McCoy is a Sapp. Slow the eff down. McCoy is now pro bowler but let’s not anoint HOFer calibre while evaluating new talent.
I like Donald at 7. Stout call. Fierce.Sapp himself has said McCoy is playing as good or better than he did. –Joe

As someone stated earlier, if Lovie doesn’t address the offense early in this draft he’s learned nothing from his downfall in Chicago…He has a new OC new to the NFL he has to give Telford every opportunity to succeed…The best way to do the is to inject some youth/talent into offensive lineup…

With your keen eye for talent…I know you’ve seen this kid out of Pitt. DT Aaron Donald 6-0½, 281 lbs. Sure the kid is small, but Wow. Your talking about an out of this world get off..smh. You add this kid to our rotation and look out. For a minute I was, like eh-next coming of Trevor Laws. Then the next minute…your speechless.

Chef Paul Says:
December 11th, 2013 at 8:36 am
LUVMYBUCS,

I just went and watched some of Donald on You Tube. That was very impressive. Dude destroyed Georgia Tech. That was fun to watch. Highlights can be very deceiving, but he had like 12 awesome plays in one game. Most highlight films have 12 awesome plays in a season.

LUVMYBUCS Says:
March 16th, 2014 at 11:18 pm
Draft Greg Robinson 1st round (If not, trade back in select Taylor Lewan or Aaron Donald)-If we’re fortunate enough to draft Robinson-Kick him inside to guard for a year or two.

LUVMYBUCS Says:
March 20th, 2014 at 11:48 am
#7. Greg Robinson
If we’re fortunate enough to to have Greg Robinson fall to us at #7 (Draft’em !! ) Plug him in at guard for a year or two; afterwards move him to tackle. If he’s not there trade back- in select Taylor Lewan or Aaron Donald.

• Aaron Donald (2013) was the ROTARY LOMBARDI AWARD FINALISTS-Hugh Green (1980) is the only other Pitt player to win the award. Yep, the same Hugh Green that was selected (7th) overall- in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft, by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Widely considered to be one of the greatest linebackers in Buccaneers history.

Great in college, physically overwhelmed in the NFL
The don’t call it “the Big Leagues” for nothing.
He is just too small, with a maxed out Frame.
We draft him, then go ahead and add him to our huge list of 1st round failures.

I know there are scouts, mock Drafters, Etc- who will tell you he is big enough.
He isn’t. The NFL isn’t that complicated. If you play DT in the trenches, you will be facing frequent double teams from 320# guards/centers. Most around 6’4″ and up.

He won’t be able to do any of the things he did in college.
Sad, but true

@Luv….Im thinking find a way to get back in the 1st for Martavis Bryant….and thanks for setting the DJ Locker guy straight….lol.

Hey DJ Locker stalker, its simple physics if you havent figured it out yet…the taller the guards the better…the momentum of smaller balls of fast strong muscle fiercely penetrating through them with the get off that Donald has…well, it kind of correlates with successful RB’s of the same stature. Its all about instinct, speed, strength, and the ability to penetrate (even if that means getting around said guards).

I prefer for them to go Offense. Over the years we have missed on our 1st and 2nd round picks. I know that is the previous regime, but Give the money to someone thats worth it. Like a QB. Someone the team really needs. We missed on AC, Bowers, B. Price, Almost Gerald. Its getting old.

Lately, I keep thinking about how incredibly lucky we got when drafting GMC. Imagine if the Lions took GMC. That means we would have gotten Suh. I dont think Suh would have lasted through Schiano. So that would have been just another wasted pick by Dom.

Of all the bad that has happened the last few years, we should be thanking our lucky stars about GMC. History could have treated us much worse than it already has.

“Sapp himself has said McCoy is playing as good or better than he did. –Joe”
So what? Just because Sapp likes McCoy doesn’t make him as good or better. McCoy is good but he is not as good or better than Sapp at this point in his career. I can’t believe how much this kind of argument occurs among buc fan. Need to let these players prove their greatness over a career instead of comparing to HOFers all the time. It’s just like people saying our new DE is Simeon Rice. Garbage! Let the man prove it first.

Donald at DE actually looks good. He is that fast.
As a DT, he’s short, light, with short arms.
That’s relevant- because it means a taller guard- with longer arms- will get his hands on him first.
If you’ve ever played a line posistion, you know how important that is